Reach
by Graffiti2DMyHeart
Summary: Zim's fear of water does not go unnoticed by Dib. While trying to foil Zim's evil plan, ultimate rivals clash and spark a fire in each other's eyes. But how much will one sacrifice in order to keep one's fire alive? Can water douse their two flames? ZADR


Invader Zim Fanfiction **"Reach"** By Graffiti2DMyHeart

**AN: This is my first IZ FF. Slight ZADR. This is for CalamityChemist's Contest on dA. Please enjoy and review! :D**

The Irken race was finely bred to fear nothing.

They ultimately started down every race with an air of authority and instinctively set out to conquer it; to quell any sort of threat it could ever become with a halting fist.

The small Irken, Zim silently cursed his stunted height and vowed to make up for his lack of tallness with a conquered planet to be presented to his superiors. It was cruel that Zim was one of the smallest when he was part of society that judged worth and merit by height. Nothing could stand in his way between him and his prize.

Not even a certain large headed boy.

The Earth was his to conquer, it was given to him by the almighty tallest as **HIS** secret mission and the human smell child was just a nuisance that will be dealt with shortly. Zim was not delaying the boy's inevitable demise. NO!

He could vanquish him at any moment he so choose to with a press of a button or command. He was just preserving him so that he could savor the look of utter defeat and despair once the filthy earth creature realized that their little game was over and his planet was now under Irken rule.

Plus Zim decided that the human organs are much more resourceful inside their body, rather than out of them, so he skipped dissecting the Dib and settled his fate as such.

Zim had conquered germs, soul stealing, Mortos, giant mutant squids and their babies, Sgt. Slab Rankle and his army of the undead, Fry cooks, the misguided Invader Tak and Mimi, bologna transformations, alternate horror universes, malfunctioning Santa suits, giant hamsters, dogs, the FBI, crazy alien enthusiasts, clinic checks, delayed explosions, working with Gir, parent teacher night, Holo 13, stupid abducting aliens, the Dib's scary sister, Mercury, planet jackers, cafeteria food and worst of all, the **BEES. **

He hardly batted his large pink eyes at these challenges. Yet a pit dropped in his squeedly spooch as he beheld the small droplets of rain splash upon the pavement. His antennas twitched in anticipation with every heavy droplet that hit the roof. A hiss escaped his throat as he violently ripped off his wig and threw it to the ground.

_RAIN._

His greatest enemy. Zim felt his skin crawl as he subconsciously tried to rub the familiar burning sensation away.

"GIR!" He shouted.

His robot servant didn't budge an inch from the TV screen.

"GIIIIIIIIIR?" he elongated his name, trying to capture his attention.

The robot pulled out a juice sucky and took a massive suck, causing him to cough and choke. He then perked up suddenly.

"Yesh master?"

The Irken rolled his eyes, but none the less, continued on.

"Gir, I wish to skip school today. I have some…uh, important experiments to run. Those eyeballs aren't going to deteriorate themselves, you know?"

They in fact were but-

"SO! Just to let you know, I'm only not going because I am busy."

With an affirmed nod, the alien marched off to his secret lab while the metallic unit remained frozen in the same position, facing where Zim was previously. Then promptly fell over.

Dib glared at the empty seat from across the room. The vacant desk unnerved him and he found that he could not concentrate on any of his schoolwork. He expected Zim to burst through the door at any minute, stealing children's brains or something of the sort.

The boy jumped when the bell rang, indicating the end of the day and he suspiciously exited the classroom. Zim held pride in his attendance record and while he bet the alien resented the skool, (mostly due to his own part) he still managed to drag himself up the steps every weekday. Dib grimaced as he held his palm out and it returned to him wet. He really wanted to spy on Zim but he also didn't want to get soaked. Something clicked in his head. Maybe this was why Zim wasn't at school?

He shook his head.

No, Zim had his water repellent for that. A wide grin spread across his face as he remembered their epic balloon fight. He secretly loved it. He was mentally stimulated to invent and he even fell for the unexpected hologram trick. Next time, he'd be ready.

He heard a growl behind him and saw Gaz with an umbrella.

"Good idea Gaz!" Dib exclaimed brightly and snatched the umbrella from her hands, dashing away towards Zim's base.

Gaz darkly glared after her brother's retreating body and vowed to exact her vengeance while she grabbed one from a nearby child and continued on her way home, enjoying the frightened child's wails.

Dib excitedly dashed on to the Irken's base, his heart thudding in his chest, his pulse elevated from his adrenaline rush. He forced himself to calm down as he neared the now familiar cul-de-sac. No activity outside of the base.

Dib glanced at his watch. 3:53.

He balanced the umbrella on his shoulder while he dug his journal out of his pocket and jotted down today's notes. Glancing around, he was really curious as to what was going on inside the base, rather than the uneventful outside. Dib shoved his book back into his pocket and tossed his umbrella from hand to hand, wondering if garden gnomes were programmed to combat an intruder wielding an umbrella.

- Zim smiled triumphantly as he threw open the front door. He had tested his formula and applied it perfectly. He grinned at his own foolishness and cowardice. No Earth liquid could stop ZIM! He stepped out into the downpour and threw his arms up in victory!

"Hah! Take that, earth scum liquid! Nothing can stop this Irken invader! No smelly, big-headed boy, no liquids, nor liquids from the Dib human either! Muahahahaha!"

Zim stopped and looked at his gloves, which began to slightly smoke. The glue compound washed away and pooled at Zim's feet. Zim felt a strange tingling on the top of his head that spread downward. Zim glared at the sky, feeling his eyes begin to get puffy and sore. His body became enflamed and he burned everywhere. Zim stumbled and clawed at his door, trying to get inside, but every time he grasped the doorknob, sharp, fiery pain shot through his body. A scream escaped his lips as he felt his nerves send pain to every receptor. His whole body was smoking and he let himself be consumed by his dissolving body. -

Zim jolted awake, chest heaving as he gasped for straggled breath.

Bright red alerts flashed around the base, warning him of an intruder. Zim rubbed his blurred pink eyes and glared at the screen which projected an image of Dib holding his own against the robot gnomes with a human rain deflector.

Zim allowed his eyes to stare on the human's slick form. His skin was drenched, yet he did not seem to suffer. Zim clacked his teeth in annoyance and watched when the Dib stripped his heavy black coat and swung the tip of the umbrella, catching the gnome number three's head, ripping it off clean off. Zim slammed his fists down in frustration and yanked his antennae's in anger. He was about to order the base to send out reinforcements when something caught his eye.

Dib's shirt clung to his skin and framed his body. His nipples protruded from under his shirt, giving away his cold body temperature. His pants hung dangerously low on his hips and hugged his behind just right. His jet black hair was plastered to his face and his normal, erect, scythe hair swung around with his movements, limp and hanging.

Zim growled and shut off the monitor.

Now was not the time to-uh- ANALYZE the Dib's battle tactics.

Zim donned his wig of spiky black hair, big purple contacts, and stepped into a giant glass cylinder. "Activate."

He commanded and a thin coating of sealant covered his body, protecting his sensitive Irken skin from moisture. He didn't have time to waste with the earth monkey, not while he had a planet to conquer. A few precise button pushes later and Zim was being placed in his voot cruiser and piloted it towards the city's water supply, ready to start implementing his ingenious plan.

Dib gave the dented umbrella a quick flick to remove any raindrops and debris. He glanced down and noticed that he misused the purpose of the umbrella, leaving him soaked. An engine roar from above and the activation of thrusters caught Dib's attention and made his head snap up. He saw Zim's ship for a spilt second before it cloaked into a giant seagull and took off. Dib grinned, ready for the challenge of the merry chase.

"Trying to escape are we? Not from me you don't!"

Dib bolted after the unblinking bird, dodging cars, pedestrians, manholes, and small animals in an attempt to keep the craft in sight. Dib chuckled to himself as he leaped over a baby stroller,

"Stupid Zim. The seagull is not even flapping his wings! And seagulls aren't even native to here!"

He ran by a police man, but by now, Dib was smart enough to not even waste his breath. Authority will only listen if evidence and proof were shoved right in their faces. As the self-proclaimed visionary passed the officer, he heard him exclaim,

"Man! What are we feeding these birds?"

As Dib rounded the corner, still keeping the overly large bird in sight, a thought crossed his mind.

_Would you really give him up?_

Dib furiously shook his head and tried to focus on the pavement ahead of him, but the thought persisted.

"Of course I would turn the green little freak in!"

_But then what? _

"Um, I'd go unveil other abnormalities."

_You'd miss him. _

"**THIS! **I'd miss this GAME this CHASE. Cat and Mouse. Tom and Jerry."

_Tom never caught Jerry. _

"SHUT UP SELF! I'll catch that alien and save my planet!"

_Then you will be bored. _

Dib found that he feared that the most.

The giant bird finally slowed and landed deftly on the city's water tower. Dib squinted through the slight drizzle and suppressed a shiver. It was a long climb up, but somebody has got to stop him.

Zim threw back his head and let out an evil cackle as his ship drilled a giant hole in the top of the tower. To the rest of the puny planet, it would look like a bird on a perch, but only up close could you see the greater evil within. With an air of superiority and accomplishment, Zim held a vial containing a sinister purple liquid above his head and was prepared to throw it into the gaping hole below.

A hand grabbing the railing halted his plans and he observed his arch enemy emerge from the ladder, wet and panting, but with fire burning in his eyes. Zim unconsciously licked his lips as he noticed the spark and it ignited his own.

"Zim." Dib addressed casually as he took off his glasses and wiped off the droplets that clung to the lenses.

"Dib-Stink."

He didn't even lower his arm an inch, but did not proceed to release the contents.

They have played this game before, dancing around each other until one would strike viciously and fast. Dib calmly jerked his thumb over towards the voot cruiser above them, finished drilling.

"Care to explain?"

Zim narrowed his eyes, trying to see through his ruse.

"Hmmm, but you see pathetic-human, I don't."

Dib's face did not betray his twitch of annoyance. He sighed and scratched his damp head.

"Must I beat it out of you?"

He flicked his wrist to emphasize the fact that he still had his weapon available to him. Zim's eyes hardly glanced to the umbrella as he gave an arrogant sniff.

"Hardly a challenge. See this vial?"

He shook it, causing Dib to jolt forward and freeze in fear of what it contained. A scratchy laugh ripped from his throat at seeing the human's pathetic misstep. He was toying with him, wasting time with their little dance together. He continued on once the boy settled down and composed himself.

"It is designed to dissolve in great amounts of water and once the container is gone, the contents will be release and will infect the humans when they drink their horrible stingy liquid!"

Dib's eyes bulged. "Y-you are going to poison the town?"

That was smart. Brutal; but got the job done.

Zim's eyes filled with gleeful mirth.

"You're lack of intelligence and your anesthetically appealing body astounds me beyond no bounds."

_Wait, What? _

Zim, contradicting himself, still told Dib what the vial contained, despite his previous statement of not doing so.

"SO! This substance is concocted to make any human that consumes it to instantly be rendered unconscious. Then the Earth will be ripe for the TAKING!"

Dib surged forward, running at Zim while screaming,

"Nooooo! I won't let that happen!"

Zim's toothy grin only became wider as he threw the vial up in the air and extended his PAK spider arms.

"Let the Challenge begin then, DIB!"

Dib took a mighty swing at Zim's head, but the alien ducked down and crawled out from under the human, crab style. Then the spidery arms began to do hard, fast jabs, making Dib run ahead in an attempt to escape the stabs of the metal appendages. Dib jabbed the umbrella in the ground and swung around, using his momentum to rotate around the tip and he landed a kick square in Zim's chest, delaying him. Dib dashed over to the open edge and quickly extended the metal hinges in his umbrella, causing the vial to not land in the water that lie below, but to bounce off and roll away.

Dib smiled in victory, but it was quickly wiped away when Zim stood up, holding the vial in his clutches and smirking. Dib couldn't resist smirking himself. It just couldn't be too easy, now could it? They paused for a minute, each catching their breath and refusing to let the other know how exhilarated they were feeling.

Dib began to slowly circle the Irken, determined to get his prize. Without warning, Dib lunged forward and Zim was ready. The PAK's arms shot out short pink laser beams, melting tiny holes into the water tower's hull. Dib used the slippery surface of the tower to his advantage and slid under the dangerous beams, getting closer to the alien and catching him off guard. Dib knew that the small alien resorted to lasers when he was frustrated. Predictable.

Zim gasped in surprise when he found Dib's face inches from his own. Hot, heavy breath warmed his cheek as amber eyes locked with his. Dib's surprisingly gentle grip shocked the alien even more. The infuriating human's soft hands grasped over his own digitals and softly pried the vial from his clutches. Dib offered a small smile, about to step back when he felt hardness pressed into his stomach.

He closed his eyes briefly, cursing at the sky before glancing back down at Zim.

"That's cheating."

Zim's plasma gun aimed down and obliterated his banged up umbrella.

"I don't remember human water repellent devices ever being included in my basic weapons training."

Dib chuckled, despite his situation.

"Touché."

Zim wanted to bask in this moment. Dib knew that he had been defeated, but there wasn't pure horror in his eyes. Instead there was something more satisfying in them. He couldn't find words to describe it. It was as if two friends were playing a brilliant game of chess and after many hours, someone finally won and the other was congratulating them. But they weren't friends. And the prize wasn't a silly bet or a small amount of money, it was the **EARTH**.

Zim backed up, looking at him with scrutiny. This must be a trap. But as he looked around, he did not see any threats of compromises of his mission. He approached the large hole while keeping his gun trained on the human. He felt generous.

"Any last words, Dib-Human? Before I render this whole planet as mine? You could beg for me to uh…take you with me. I'm sure I could fit another test subject in my cargo. Well, I'm not so sure about your large head, but it could be removed easily."

Dib gritted his teeth at the comment about his abnormally sized head and waved his hand dismissively.

"No Zim, go ahead. Do your evil plan. I would ask you what you think will happen after the humans WAKE UP and how you think that our little city's water supply will affect the whole Earth, but no, go ahead and dump it. No need to hesitate on my part. I'm pretty sure this whole town would enjoy a nice nap."

Zim growled in anger and threw the vial into the water out of spite. _Stupid human! He thinks he can criticize ME? Just watch as I take over this planet, you'll SEE! _

The water became stained with a deep purple, then reverted to its original state. Zim bellowed and roared, pleased with his success. He didn't even notice the Dib walk up to the edge and pear over it, nor did he care. Part one of his plans were complete and no matter what logic Dib tried to throw his way, he would, like always, ignore it and continue on anyways.

Out of no where, like a sign of impending doom, a bolt of lighting struck down next to the tower, striking a nearby tree, causing it to crash and fall.

Zim jumped, frightened by the human's freakish weather, but Dib flailed his arms around, losing his balance and fell into the unforgiving waters.

Zim's eyes went wide as a feeling struck him.

_**FEAR.**_

Total, heart wrenching fear gripped his chest as he froze when he heard the splash. He knew the familiar big head wouldn't pop right up, spluttering and cursing at him.

Before he could even think, Zim found himself flying through mid-air, diving right into the waters. He knew that not thinking things through was one of his biggest weaknesses and it has brought him his past failures. Would this constitute as a failure? Once the icy water splashed on his skin and his PAK buzzed and zapped out of life, he thought, "Yes."

Zim's glue water repellent compound was designed to repel the water, not protect him from complete submersion. Zim was reliving his nightmare all over again.

He didn't know how to swim, but he forced his eyes open, thankful for the contacts that allowed him to see underwater for a spilt second before they flipped out and disappeared into the dark abyss. He felt his wig float off, yet he didn't care as he saw a figure sinking next to him. This was the moment. He could save himself and conquer the Earth, free from Dib's interfering, or he could try to save the boy.

He tried to weight both options, yet once the thought, _"A Life without Dib" _passed through his mind, he knew his decision. He needed him. To motivate, fascinate and inspire him. Realization struck him that without Dib, this whole planet was **USELESS. **

He found worth in it because Dib coveted it and kept it to himself, making Zim want it and him even more. The glue compound has completely dissolved off of his body now and his skin started the process. It felt like liquid fire with every joint he moved. Proud Irken blood poured out of his mouth and floated up towards the surface innocently. His insides were waging war against each other, raging against the intruding foreign substance. Zim took one last look at Dib, holding his image in his mind one more time before he could no longer keep them open for the pain was too great.

Zim closed his eyes and did the only thing he could do.

_Reach. _

**AN: I hoped you liked it! Again, this is my first IZ FF, so please review and tell me how I did. **

**This FF was written for a picture, "Reach" by CalamityChemist. Link is on my profile.**

**3 Faust**


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